Spiritus ex Machina
by KrissyKat91
Summary: Ikki and Metabee win the World Robattle Championship for the third time straight. This brings the boy's tactical skills and battle instincts to the attention of the wrong person. MORE INSIDE. TENTATIVE RATING.
1. Prologue: Snatched

KrissyKat91: I need a different job. It's clear to me that I have waaaaay too much time on my hands if I'm coming up with things like this. You know, this looked like it had more to it in my OpenOffice program.

* * *

Extended synopsis: Ikki and Metabee win the World Robattle Championship for the third time straight. Unfortunately, this brings the boy's tactical skills and battle instincts to the attention of the wrong person, and he is abducted on the way home from school. Two years later he stumbles through his parents' front gate, traumatized and with little memory of anything that happened to him. Just who was it that kidnapped Ikki, and what did they do to him?

* * *

Prologue: Snatched

"IKKI TENRYOU WINS WORLD ROBATTLE CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THIRD TIME!"

This phrase (or some variation of it) was the headline of every newspaper stand Ikki Tenryou passed as he walked home from school, and he couldn't help the grin on his face.

He was far from the first person to win the WRC three times straight, and he certainly wouldn't be the last, but he was the youngest person to do so to date, and that gave him a special place in the hearts of fans everywhere. Unlike Metabee, he didn't expect the praise to last forever, but he was definitely going to enjoy it while it did.

Thinking of Metabee made him glance, frowning, at the place by his side where his best friend usually walked. The KBT-type's body was being upgraded at the Medabots Corporation, so Metabee (who wanted to be seen in his bizarrely chimeric spare body seldom as possible) had stayed home.

And for some reason, that made Ikki nervous.

* * *

"We have a visual on the target," a shadowed figure murmured from his position in the back of a nondescript moving van.

" _Good,"_ the voice on the other end of the radio said. _"As soon as you can, grab him, but make sure you aren't seen. And get rid of that Medawatch. I don't want anyone tracking us with it."_

"Yes Master."

* * *

Shifting uncomfortably, Ikki glanced left and right. He had the creepy feeling he was being watched, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

Shaking his head, he sped up, trying to get home as fast as possible. There was a nasty feeling rising up in his gut, telling him that if he didn't hurry, something bad would happen.

As he jogged down the sidewalk leading to the last turn he had to make to get to his street, he passed a moving van, to which he gave no thought to beyond the fact that it hadn't been there this morning.

The instant he passed it, the back doors swung open. Two cloaked figures jumped out and grabbed him, making him drop his backpack. Before he could so much as cry out, a strange smelling cloth was pressed over his nose and mouth, and everything went black.

* * *

"Target acquired," the figure said as his helpers pulled the chloroformed thirteen-year-old into the van.

" _Excellent! Have you gotten rid of the watch?"_

"One moment." The figure reached down and pulled the white watch off Ikki's wrist. Cracking the door open, he tossed it to the street. "It's gone, Master."

" _Good,"_ the voice cackled, _"good! You and the Sniper Joes have done well, Shadowman. The three of you return to base with my new test subject immediately. And do not let yourselves be seen! The last thing we need is that thrice blasted Megaman on our tails."_

"As you command, Master Wily."


	2. Return

KrissyKat91: I could never find a name for Ikki's mom, so I just picked one. I don't even know what it means.

* * *

Ch. 1: Return

two years later

It was still early in the morning, well before any sane person would wake, when he staggered into the residential area of Riverview, Japan.

His thoughts were vague at best, his memories flitting around just out of his reach. Instinct and bullheaded determination were all that were driving him at this point.

He was running from That Man, he knew that much. He also knew he hated That Man, hated him with every fiber of his being, hated him even more than he hated... someone he couldn't remember.

That Man had taken everything from him. He wasn't sure exactly what "everything" entailed, but he knew it was true. He wasn't even sure where That Man had kept him, just that he had walked a long way to get from there to here. And, where exactly was here?

A pale hand reached up, shoving black bangs away so weary blue eyes could look around. All these homes looked familiar, but he couldn't remember why.

Suddenly he stopped, staring. The house in front of him was barely different from the others, and yet...

"Home," he whispered. "I'm... home." The thought crystallized in his mind, bringing with it a rush of memories. "Mom, Dad, Metabee!"

Stumbling in his haste, he flung open the gate and rushed up the walk. Grabbing the doorknob, he was dismayed to find it locked.

 _'Of course it's locked, you numbskull!"_ a voice in the back of his mind snapped. _'It's three in the morning! Even the sun is still asleep!'_

Shaking his head, he reached up and, after a second's hesitation, rang the doorbell.

For a long moment there seemed to be no response, so he rang it again, this time with more urgency.

"Just a minute," a slightly mechanized male voice called. An instant later the door opened, revealing a white-and-yellow KBT-type Medabot with sleepy green eyes.

Eyes that grew to the size of dinner plates at the sight of him.

"You..."

He grinned weakly. "Hi, Metabee. What's up?"

And then his strength failed him, and he passed out.

* * *

"MR. TENRYOU! MRS. TENRYOU!"

Joso and Mariko Tenryou shot out of bed at the sound of the Medabot's shout.

"Metabee?" Joso called as he and his wife pulled on their house coats. "What's wrong?"

"He's back! Ikki's back!"

The two adults dashed down the stairs to see Metabee struggling to pull an unconscious teenaged boy through the door.

"Ikki!" Mariko breathed. "My baby!"

Rushing over to them, she dropped to her knees and rolled the boy over.

It was obvious time had not been kind. His face was pale and hollow, his hair long and filthy, and he felt far too thin beneath the faded black tracksuit he was wearing. The once white sneakers adorning his feet were almost worn through, as though he's walked a very long way in them.

But despite all that, Mariko could still see the little boy who had been the light of her life as he grew up, and she held him tightly, crying tears of joy.

* * *

Low voices were the first things Ikki heard as he swam back to consciousness. Unsure of where he was, he kept his eyes closed and his breathing even. He wasn't quite awake enough to tell what the voices were saying, so he turned his attention to his other senses.

He was laying in a warm bed, with at least three blankets piled on top of him, and he felt clean for the first time since he'd run away from That Man, which felt amazing.

The voices suddenly became louder, catching Ikki's attention as the muffling fog cleared from his mind.

"I don't care if the Select Corps. wants to question him, Joso!" a familiar female voice hissed quietly. "I don't care if the Prime Minister or-or the Emperor themselves show up! No one is bothering my baby until he recovers!"

"I don't like it either, Mariko," a male voice responded, "but we could be accused of impeding the investigation if we don't allow it. Not telling them he showed up two days ago is already pushing it."

Joso. Mariko. It wasn't a dream!

Blue eyes snapped open, a gasp escaping before he could catch it.

Instantly, three pairs of eyes, two human and one robotic, locked onto him.

Joso Tenryou, his father.

Mariko Tenryou, his mother.

Metabee, his best friend.

Tears welled up in sapphire orbs, and he reached out, needing to touch them, to prove to himself that he was finally safe, and wasn't just having some wonderful nightmare.

Immediately, two pairs of warm arms wrapped around him, and a child-sized metal hand gripped his.

And Ikki cried.


	3. Karin

Ch. 2: Karin

"I told you, I don't remember!"

Ikki was sitting in the big recliner in the living room, answering question after question from the fourth Select Corpsman in a row. He knew these people were just doing their jobs, but really, how many times did they need to hear the same story?! Metabee (who'd hardly left his side since he woke up) seemed to be getting frustrated too, if the way he was klacking incessantly under his breath meant anything.

"Just once more," the Corpsman said, "from the top."

"Fine," Ikki sighed, "but this is the last time!"

"Fair enough."

"I was walking home from school, just like any other day, when someone grabbed me from behind and put a smelly cloth over my nose. The only things I remember between that and seeing my house again are numbers, flashes of light, and a creepy old man with a skull on his tie."

"Can you describe the man?"

Huffing, Ikki did so. "Lab coat. White hair. Cleft chin. Absolutely _massive_ mustache. Skull tie." Somehow he managed to keep the hatred he felt toward That Man off his face and out of his voice. "That's all I remember."

He also refrained from mentioning the voice in the back of his head that was currently giving its opinion of the intelligence of the Select Corps. in general, and the Corpsman in front of him in particular. He had no desire to be tossed into the nearest looney bin, thank you kindly.

 _'Seriously, these are the_ dumbest _humans I've ever come across. Why do they need this repeated so many times?'_

 _Be nice,_ Ikki told the voice. _They're doing their best._

 _'Yeah, yeah, whatever.'_

"Ikki? Earth to Ikki? What's it like in orbit?"

He jolted. "Wh-what?"

Metabee did the Medabot version of raising an eyebrow. "The Corpsmen left and your mom's been calling you. Someone's here to see you."

Ikki groaned. _"Please,_ tell me it isn't someone else from the Select Corps."

"Having problems with the Corpsmen?" a female voice asked, sounding amused. "I can relate."

Eyes widening, Ikki twisted around in the recliner.

The girl standing in the doorway was tall for her age, wearing a lilac sundress with matching flats. She had flame colored hair done up in a high ponytail as opposed to the pigtails she used to wear. Plum colored eyeliner, paired with lilac eyeshadow, rimmed her warm green eyes, but Ikki recognized her immediately. It was Karin Junmei, the girl he'd fallen in love with before he'd even decided he liked girls. The moment he laid eyes on her, all those old feelings came roaring back to the surface.

"Ah, K-Karin," he breathed. "Hi."

"Hello Ikki," she said, walking into the room. "It's good to see you again. Everyone's been so worried."

"Y-yeah," Ikki stuttered, blushing, barely noticing as Metabee left the room, snickering something about young love. "It's good to see you, too."

"Your mom told me you came home three days ago, but were asleep for two. Are you alright?"

"I think so. I'm pretty sure I was kidnapped, but I don't remember what happened or who did it." His eyes widened suddenly. "Oh! I'm sorry, I'm just letting you stand there. Do you want to sit down?"

Karin giggled. "No, that's alright." She pulled a face, like she'd tasted something sour. "My self declared minder won't let me stay long, once he catches up to me, that is."

"Your minder?" Ikki parroted, confused, and the redhead sighed.

"You're not the only one who was snatched off the street, only I managed to get away from the guy. They caught him, but it scared Uncle Aki, and now he won't let me go anywhere without an escort. I lost him earlier, but it won't take him long to figure out where I went."

Ikki winced. "Ouch. I hope Mom and Dad don't do that to me. So who's your escort?"

"It's—"

"Karin!"

Both fifteen-year-olds jumped at the sound of the voice. Stalking into the room was Koji Karakuchi (who's only big change in appearance was the fact he was wearing designer jeans instead of shorts), Sumilidon hot on his heels.

Ikki blinked, then smiled. "Hey, Koji, I—" He cut himself off when Koji glared at him.

"Karin, you know you're not supposed to go anywhere without me!" the other boy half stated, half whined.

Karin made an uncharacteristically frustrated noise. "Uncle Aki said I couldn't go anywhere without _someone,_ not necessarily _you._ Besides, I knew you wouldn't let me come see Ikki; you hardly let me do anything!"

"I do too let you do things! I just don't think you ought to be hanging around with a loser!"

 _'"Loser"!? Why that little—Let me out! I'll show him who's a loser!'_

 _No! Koji's a jerk and a spoiled brat, but he's always been there when the chips were down!_

 _'I don't care! No one calls me a loser! No one!'_

"Ikki? Are you okay?" The warm hand on his arm snapped him out of his internal debate, the voice subsiding to angry mutters.

"Y-yeah," he grunted, massaging his temples. "I'm fine."

Karin smiled. "I'm glad," she said, then rounded on Koji. "Koji Karakuchi, how dare you?! Get out! I'll call one of Uncle Aki's security guards to come get me!"

Koji paled. "But-but Karin—"

"No! I don't want to see you again today! Leave!"

Metabee's head appeared in the doorway. "Everything okay in here?"

"Metabee," Karin said, turning her back to the rich boy, "be a dear and see Koji to the door, will you?"

The KBT-type blinked, looking questioningly at his Medafighter. Ikki gave a jerky nod, head still pounding. The yellow bot shrugged, grabbed a protesting Koji by the wrist, and hauled him out the door. Sumilidon bowed apologetically and followed.

Karin stood stiffly for a moment, then slumped onto the couch with a sigh, burying her face in her hands. "I'm sorry about that. It's just… I know people change as they grow up, but I don't think I like the person Koji's turning into."

"What do you mean? He hasn't hurt you, has he?" Ikea's hands clenched, fingers digging into the recliner's arm rests. Maybe he should have let the voice out after all.

"No, no, nothing like that. He's just so… so possessive of me. I understand that it scared him, too, but that's no excuse to take away my freedom!"

Pushing himself off the recliner, Ikki walked carefully to the couch. Sitting beside her, he hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Do… do you want to do something this weekend? Provided Mom and Dad let me out of the house?"

The redhead looked up at him, blinking. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Ikki scratched the back of his head, "I was thinking we could just, you know, walk around the town. Let me see what's changed."

"You mean like a date?"

He turned flaming red. "W-well, yeah, if you want to look at it that way."

Karin tilted her head, stretched up and pecked him on the cheek. "I'd like that."

* * *

Later, after Karin had called security and gone home, Ikki lay stretched out on the couch, eyes fixed on the ceiling, fingers resting on the place she'd kissed, a silly grin on his face.

 _She kissed me! She KISSED me!_

 _'On the cheek.'_

 _It still counts!_

The voice snorted. _'Whatever you say. But kid, I gotta tell you, if you don't grab hold of her and never let go, you're a bigger numbskull than I thought.'_

 _Believe me, I don't plan on it._


	4. Bass

KrissyKat91: Sorry about the wait. I've been almost done with this chapter for a while, but Harvey chased us out of our house. We've been camping out at our church, so I've been without internet for several days.

* * *

Ch. 3: Bass

"MOM!"

"Is something wrong, dear?" Mariko asked, poking her head into her son's bedroom. Then she blinked and looked around.

The room looked like a tornado had run through it. Drawers were flung open, clothes were strewn everywhere, and in the middle of it all was Ikki, clad in a white T-shirt and black sweatpants, looking distressed.

"None of my old clothes fit!" he wailed. "This was all I could find, and Karin will be here any minute!"

Mariko giggled. "Then I guess you'll just have to use this little outing as a shopping trip."

"But—!"

"I'll go get some money!" she said, completely oblivious to the exasperated look her son was giving her.

 _'She'll never change.'_

 _No. No, she won't._

DING-DONG.

"Ack! She's here!"

* * *

"So none of your clothes fit?"

"Not anymore," Ikki sighed. He and Karin were walking down the street leading to the shopping district of Riverview. Metabee and Neutranurse had been with them for a while, but the NAS-type had dragged the protesting KBT-type off somewhere under the guise of wanting to show him something. Ikki had a gut feeling she was trying to give he and Karin some "alone time". "Even my old shoes are too small. These are Dad's beach sandals."

"What about the ones you were wearing when you came home?"

"Worn out. I can't even begin to guess how far I must have walked to ruin them like that."

Karin smiled. "So I guess that means we'll have to do some shopping while we're here."

"Yeah. Hey, does this alley still take you to that big shopping center?"

"Well, yes, but I don't think going down it without Metabee and Neutranurse is a good idea."

"It'll be alright. I won't let anything happen to you."

 _'You mean_ I _won't. You can't fight to save_ your _life, never mind someone else's.'_

 _Oh shut up. You know what I mean._

The two teenagers turned into the alley, leaving the bright sun for the cool shadows. Karin clung to Ikki's arm as they walked, causing the boy to blush hotly. They made it halfway through before movement in front of them brought them to a halt.

Three men in overdone biker outfits were standing between them and the alley's exit, sneering in what they probably thought was a menacing manner. Ikki just thought they looked constipated.

"Hey there, pretty girl," one of the men said, leering at Karin. "Why don't you ditch the shrimp here and come with us? We'll show you a good time."

"U-um, no thank you," Karin stuttered, tightening her grip on Ikki's arm. "I'm not interested."

"Aw, come on," the man wheedled. "We'll make it worth your while."

"Hey, back off!" Ikki snapped as the voice sat up and took notice of the impending clash. "She doesn't want to go with you!"

"What are you, her brother?" another man growled. "Buzz off!"

The third man, unmoving until now, suddenly stepped forward and threw a punch at Ikki. A buzzing sensation filled his limbs, and he found himself grabbing Karin and jumping to the side without conscious control.

 _What did you do?!_

 _'Let me out.'_

 _But—_

 _'No "buts", kid. Let me out before these morons get serious.'_

 _But—you—fine. Just don't do any permanent damage._

 _'Heh. No promises.'_

Closing his eyes, Ikki let his mind go blank, the buzzing in his limbs increasing a thousandfold as the voice took over, and everything went black.

* * *

Karin wasn't sure what had just happened. One moment she was standing next to Ikki, hoping they would be able to talk their way out of the mess they were in, the next moment Ikki was grabbing her and dodging a punch.

"Ikki?" she murmured. He didn't answer, just closing his eyes.

"Huh," the third man grunted. "Not a bad dodge." He grinned nastily. "Think you can keep it up, brat?"

"…Idiots."

Karin stiffened as a low, dark voice—made even more frightening by the very slight hissing undertone it carried—suddenly came out of Ikki's mouth. Glancing up, she gasped as his eyes opened to reveal a red the color of fresh blood rather than the gentle night-sky blue she expected. And those eyes _burned_ with something that looked far too much like madness.

"What'd you say, punk?" the first man snarled, apparently not noticing the change in eye color.

"You heard me," not-Ikki replied, maneuvering Karin to stand behind him. "You're a bunch of idiots if you think you can take me on."

The men growled angrily. "You talk big, trash," the second man snapped all three reached for the Medawatches on their wrists. "Let's see if you can back it up."

"Oh, so you're cowards, too."

The men froze. "What."

"You're too afraid to fight me yourselves, so you call on your Medabots to do it?" Not-Ikki sneered. "Pathetic."

That seemed to drive the men over the edge. "WHY YOU LITTLE—," one of them roared, lunging for the teen. This turned out to be a very stupid idea.

The moment the first man moved, Karin found herself being shoved clear of the impending fight. Stumbling backwards, she could only watch the unfolding beatdown in stunned disbelief.

Not-Ikki ducked under the swinging fist and drove his own into the man's solar plexus. As the man doubled over, gasping, the red eyed teen followed it up with an elbow strike to the temple, dropping the man like a rock. The other two men gaped in shock, which gave not-Ikki all the opportunity he needed. In a flash, he was in front of the second man, dropping into a spin that knocked the man's legs out from under him. The man hit the ground with an "oomph!", laying stunned as not-Ikki launched a haymaker at the last man, nailing him in the jaw and sending him into dreamland.

Straightening up, not-Ikki sneered again. "Pitiful. I'd have had a better fight if you _had_ summoned your Medabots." He reached behind him and grabbed Karin's wrist. "Let's go, Red."

Too shocked to protest, Karin let herself be towed out of the alley and into the shopping district. Once they'd moved onto the sidewalk, not-Ikki looked down at her.

"Well?" he asked, a cocky smirk curling across his face. "Nothing to say, Red?"

"…Ikki? Is-is that you?"

His smirk widened. "Close, but not exactly." Crimson eyes swept the surroundings. "Look, we probably shouldn't have this little talk out in the open. Feel like a coffee?" He nodded to a little corner cafe on the other side of the street.

"I—yes. Yes, I think I do." Karin had a feeling she was going to need something very chocolatey to get through this conversation.

Five minutes later the two teens were sequestered in a corner booth at the back of the cafe, with a cup of strong black coffee for him and a cinnamon mocha latte with double the cinnamon and triple the chocolate for her. Thus fortified, Karin stared hard at the still smirking boy sitting across from her.

"Alright," she started, "you said you're not Ikki, but that I was close. What does that mean?"

Dropping two creamer cups, a handful of sugar packets and a plastic spoon onto the table next to his coffee, not-Ikki took a sip, then looked back at her. "Just what I said. I'm not exactly the kid. I'm… I guess you could say I'm his dark side brought to life. He needed someone who could protect him, someone who wasn't afraid to get down and dirty if a situation called for it." He shrugged. "Kid's a numbskull, but he's _my_ numbskull and the only reason I exist, so I'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe." He grinned a razor-edged grin. "If that means I get some good fights out of it, all the better."

"So you're, what, a split personality?"

"Something like that. It's not quite right, but it's close enough. But for conversation's sake, you can call me Bass."

"But-but Ikki's eyes changed from blue to red when you took control! And your voice sounds completely different from his!" She raised her hands helplessly. "You hiss when you speak, for goodness' sake!"

"I really can't explain that, Red. I don't know why that happens. It's probably something That Man did." Here his face contorted into a frankly terrifying scowl as he glared down into his coffee.

Karin shivered a little. If she hadn't thought this Bass personality was dangerous before, she did now from that look alone. Shaking her head, she pulled her thoughts back on track. "You seem to have a strong dislike for that guy."

Bass snorted, taking another sip of coffee. "'Strong dislike' is an understatement. 'Passionate hate' is a better description. And don't let him fool you. The kid hates That Man just as much as I do, even if he can't remember why."

Karin frowned. Something about the way he'd said that… "Bass," she said carefully, "do-do _you_ remember why you hate him?"

The smirk left Bass' face in a hurry. "Don't go there, Red. Don't even go there." And before Karin could say anything else, he closed his eyes and slumped forward a little.

"Bass?" she asked, leaning forward in concern. Had that question triggered something?

The boy in the other seat sat up with a faint groan, shaking his head. When he looked up at her, she found herself once again looking into night-sky blue.

"Karin?" he said dazedly. "What happened? Where are we?" He blinked down at the cup in front of him. "Is this mine?"

"Ikki! You're back!" Never had she been so glad to see that shade of blue.

"'Back'?" Ikki repeated. "Where'd I go?" He paused, eyes going unfocused, then he paled. "Oh. You, ah, you met Bass."

Karin had an idea as to why he suddenly looked so scared. "I'm not going to tell anyone about this, Ikki, or throw you in a nuthouse. Bass is… well, he's terrifying, but if he's here to protect you, then more power to him. And yes, that's your coffee."

Ikki gave her a shaky smile. "You might change your mind. You haven't seen him angry yet." He sipped the coffee, then grimaced and added the creamer and sugar to it. "How two people can share the same tongue and yet have such different tastes in coffee is beyond me."

Karin giggled. She could handle Bass if she got Ikki out of the bargain. A stray comment from Erika the day he'd been kidnapped had slapped her in the face with his feelings for her, and two years without him had forced her to figure out her own feelings for him. It was true, what they said: that you never knew what you had until it was gone. Well, now she had a second chance, and she had no intention of blowing it. Come what may, she'd hold onto this boy, scary split personality and all. Because he was worth it.

Now if only she could figure out what to do about Koji.


End file.
